Home construction defects are more than isolated events and the litigation that's too often necessary to resolve shoddy construction can take consumers through a gauntlet of weak regulatory redress and builder resistance.
The difficulty addressing defects is compounded when poor workmanship is found in the growing number of housing communities governed by a homeowners association, which are led by a group of well-meaning volunteer home owners who typically aren't schooled in either quality building or defect disputes.
That's where the new "Construction Defect Litigation: The Community Association's Guide to the Legal Process" (Community Associations Press, $49.95), offered by the publishing arm of the Community Associations Institute (CAI), comes in.
"Since nearly every new housing development becomes a homeowner or condominium association, it's the association that often must take the lead when serious construction defects arise," says CAI chief executive officer Tom Skiba.
Since the year 2000, when there were 222,500 homeowner assocation-governed communities, with 17.8 million housing units and 45.2 million residents living in them, those numbers have grown to 286,000 communities, 23.1 million units and 57.0 million residents in 2006, according to CAI.
Within that period, the number of new home defects also has grown.
In 2004, Consumer Reports' "Housewrecked", based on scores of interviews with home owners, builders, inspectors, industry representatives, government officials, and lawyers, reported that as many as 15 percent of all new homes sold -- 150,000 a year -- had a serious defect.
This year, risk management services firm from San Diego, CA, Quality Built, tabulated up-close, on-sight professional home inspections on 11,128 multi-family homes, and found life-safety defects 29 percent of the time; framing and structural problems in 26 percent of the homes and building and envelope issues in 23 percent of homes. Similar levels of problems were found in single-family homes.
"Litigation is an exceedingly complicated issue, and few managers or board members know what's needed or how to get through this dense legal process. This book can save them time and money, not to mention a lot of headaches and heartache," Skiba said.
Written by construction defect and community association legal eagles Ross Feinberg of Feinberg, Grant, Mayfield, Kaneda & Litt, LLP, Newport Beach, CA, and CAI president elect, Ron Perl, of Hill Wallack, Attorneys at Law , Princeton, NJ, the guide helps transform what could be a trying and troublesome task into a manageable learning experience for the uninformed.
The 264-page, nine-part book explains how to identify, investigate and document defects, the importance of right-to-repair laws and alternative dispute resolution, the community manager's role in the case, and what happens when the process is completed.
The book also provides detailed, step-by-step guidance on how to prepare for and resolve construction defect problems, even if the case doesn't go to court.
Sections cover attorney-client privilege, identifying defects, checking statutes of limitations, assembling a defect investigation team, builders right-to-repair laws, pre-litigation steps, alternative dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration, costs, recoverable damages and reconstruction among other points.
Appendixes examine construction defect laws, statutes of limitations and standing-to-sue laws on a state-by-state basis, as well as reconstruction contracts and investigating and remediating mold, one of the era's most common construction defect issues.
The book is useful for builders and single-family home owners, as well as community associations, according to CAI.
"This book will help developers and their attorneys refine their strategies for avoiding litigation in connection with construction defects," said G. Douglass White, P.E., a prominent northern Virginia engineer.
Retired California Superior Court Judge Luis A. Cardenas, who now works in dispute resolution, often for real estate issues, with the Irvine, CA-based JAMS dispute resolution service company, says the new manual is "the 'Bible' for community managers needing guidance in construction defect litigation," because of its practical, step-by-step approach.
